Savoy ball (P. Abrahàmi operett)

Sung in Estonian with subtitles in Estonian and English (available in the Estonia Theatre Hall)
Approx. running time 3 h 25 min, two intermissions

Pál Ábrahám’s operetta in three acts
Music arranged by Mart Sander
Libretto by Alfred Grünwald and Fritz Löhner-Beda, adaptation by Mart Sander
World premiere on December 23, 1932 (Großes Schauspielhaus, Berlin)
Premiere at the Estonian National Opera on January 15, 2013

Pál Ábrahám’s operetta reflects the hedonistic atmosphere of the 1930s and is a dazzling revue on love, piquant seduction and swing music.

Stage Director Mart Sander: “Ball im Savoy” is not just a production for me, in many ways it is life itself. This was the first production at the Estonian National Opera that I participated in – I had just turned 18 and started working in the chorus. I had seen the premiere a few years ago, what’s more, I had already fallen in love with the music of the 1930s, the affair that has lasted ever since. I knew a few songs from the operetta. I was a little disappointed that the music did not sound as it did on the old records. On many occasions, when I was on stage, I thought about how this production could be made more stylish, so that it would pass on the fragrance and atmosphere of the 1930s. Now, 25 years later, I have this opportunity. I can realise one of my dreams – to create a real-time grand Hollywood film of the 1930s.”